What Landlords Must Do Before 1 May 2026: Renters' Rights Act Action Plan
If you searched for a Renters’ Rights Act landlord action plan hoping to get ahead of the 1 May 2026 start date, here is the honest update: the first and most significant tranche of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is already in force, it commenced on 1 May 2026. As of today, 18 June 2026, the no-fault eviction route is gone and every assured tenancy in England is periodic. The “before 1 May” deadline has passed, but the action plan below is exactly what you still need to work through, because most landlords have not finished the transition.
Think of this as a catch-up action plan. The legal regime has changed; your tenancy agreements, your eviction routes, your rent-increase process and your pet policy probably have not. This guide walks you through each task in priority order, with references to GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk so you can verify everything, plus a worked example and a self-audit table you can keep on file.
Why the “1 May 2026” deadline still matters
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent and its core provisions were brought into force on 1 May 2026. That single commencement date did several things at once:
- Abolished Section 21 “no-fault” evictions for assured tenancies.
- Abolished fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs), all assured tenancies are now periodic.
- Reformed the rent-increase process so it runs only through Section 13.
- Introduced the tenant’s right to request a pet, which a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse.
A few reforms are not yet live and are phasing in later, the new PRS Landlord Ombudsman (expected around 2028), the Private Rented Sector Database (phasing in from late 2026 into 2027), and the extension of Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard to private rentals. Those belong in your forward planning, not your immediate to-do list. For the full sequence, see our commencement dates timeline.
The practical risk for landlords who delay is not abstract. Serving an obsolete notice, raising rent the old way, or trying to enforce a fixed term that no longer exists will not just fail, it can expose you to wasted court fees, lost months of rent, and in some cases penalties or rent repayment orders. The transition is therefore a compliance job, not a paperwork tidy-up.
The Renters’ Rights Act landlord action plan, step by step
Work through these in order. Each step tells you what changed, what to do, and where to verify the detail.
1. Replace any out-of-date tenancy agreements
There is no longer any such thing as a fixed-term AST for a residential let. Every assured tenancy is now a rolling periodic tenancy by operation of law. Even if your old agreement still says “12-month fixed term”, the statutory position overrides it, the tenancy continues periodically and the tenant can end it on two months’ notice.
Action:
- Stop issuing any agreement that creates a fixed term or relies on Section 21.
- Move to a compliant periodic agreement for all new lets, and review existing agreements so you understand which clauses are now unenforceable.
- Remove any rent-review clause, these are now banned; rent can only be raised by the Section 13 procedure.
- Strip out any blanket “no pets” wording (covered in step 4) and any clause requiring pet insurance.
You do not need to re-paper every existing tenant overnight, the statute converts the tenancy automatically, but the document a tenant holds should not actively mislead them about their rights. If you are unsure what counts now, our explainer on what a periodic tenancy is breaks it down, and fixed-term vs periodic tenancy explains exactly what changed and why.
2. Bin your Section 21 templates and learn Section 8
You can no longer serve a Section 21 notice. The only route to possession is now Section 8, served on the current prescribed form on GOV.UK, citing one or more statutory grounds. There are roughly 37 grounds in total, split between mandatory grounds (the court must grant possession if proven) and discretionary grounds (the court decides whether it is reasonable).
The grounds and notice periods you will use most often:
| Ground | Use | Notice period |
|---|---|---|
| Ground 8 | Serious rent arrears (at least 3 months / 13 weeks owed) | check current period on GOV.UK |
| Ground 1A | Landlord intends to sell the property | 4 months |
| Ground 1 | Landlord or close family wants to move in | 4 months |
| Ground 2 | Possession sought by a mortgage lender | 4 months |
Grounds 3, 4 and 16 have been abolished. Always check the exact wording and current notice period on GOV.UK before serving, because getting the ground or the period wrong can invalidate the notice and force you to start again. Note too that some of the new ownership-based grounds (such as the sale ground) carry restrictions on re-letting the property within a set period after recovering possession, another reason to read the current guidance carefully.
For the bigger picture, see Section 8 vs Section 21: what changed and our practical walk-through of the Section 8 notice and possession process.
3. Update your rent-increase process to Section 13 only
You can no longer raise rent by agreement clauses, side letters or informal demands. The only lawful mechanism is a Section 13 notice on the current prescribed form on GOV.UK, and you can use it only once in any 12-month period.
Key points to bake into your process:
- Give the correct minimum notice before the new rent takes effect.
- The tenant can refer the proposed increase to the First-tier Tribunal.
- Critically, the Tribunal cannot set the rent higher than the figure you proposed, it can only confirm or reduce it. So pitch a defensible, evidenced figure based on comparable local rents.
- Diarise the 12-month anniversary so you never accidentally serve a second notice too early.
The “once a year” rule and the tribunal’s inability to push rent up are the two facts most landlords get wrong. Our step-by-step guide, how to increase rent legally after the Renters’ Rights Act, covers the timing and the form in detail.
4. Rewrite your pet policy
A blanket “no pets” rule is no longer lawful. Tenants now have a statutory right to request a pet (Housing Act 1988, ss.16A–16B as inserted by the Act), and you must respond in writing within 28 days, extendable by a further 7 days if you reasonably need more information.
What the rules require:
- You may refuse, but only on reasonable grounds, and your refusal must be in writing.
- There is no deemed consent in the Act, but missing the deadline leaves you with no documented decision and weakens your position significantly if it is challenged.
- You cannot require the tenant to take out pet insurance as a condition of consent.
Set up a simple workflow so every pet request is acknowledged, considered against genuine reasons (for example, a superior landlord’s lease that prohibits pets), and answered in writing inside the window. See how to word a pet clause after the RRA and how to refuse a pet request in writing without breaking the law.
5. Confirm your deposit and holding-deposit compliance
Deposit rules are largely unchanged, but the transition is a good moment to audit them. Tenancy deposits must still be protected in an authorised scheme within the statutory time limit and the prescribed information served (Housing Act 2004, ss.213–215). The holding deposit cap remains one week’s rent under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
Action: check that every live deposit is protected, that prescribed information was served, and that any holding deposits you take are correctly capped and accounted for. Non-protection is one of the most common, and most expensive, landlord errors, because it can block a possession claim and trigger a penalty of up to three times the deposit.
6. Check certificates, safety and the road ahead
Your existing safety duties continue: a valid EPC, an annual gas safety record (CP12), electrical safety checks (EICR) and working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms. Looking ahead, Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard are being extended to the private rented sector, and the PRS Database will require landlord and property registration as it phases in. None of those registration duties are live today, but build them into your forward plan now so the deadlines do not catch you cold.
A worked example: catching up in three weeks
Priya owns two flats in Leeds, both let on what were 12-month ASTs signed in 2025. On 1 May 2026 both tenancies automatically became periodic assured tenancies. Here is how she works through the action plan:
- Week 1, Agreements. She accepts that the fixed terms no longer bind anyone and stops trying to enforce a “break clause”. For her next new let she switches to a compliant periodic agreement and deletes the old rent-review clause from her template.
- Week 1, Deposits. She confirms both deposits are still protected with her scheme and that prescribed information was served when the tenancies began. One was fine; for the other she re-serves the prescribed information to be safe and keeps a dated copy.
- Week 2, Rent. One tenant’s rent has not risen since 2024. Priya researches comparable local rents, sets a defensible figure, and prepares to serve the current prescribed Section 13 form, diarising that she cannot do it again for 12 months.
- Week 2, Pets. A tenant asks to keep a cat. Priya checks her own lease, finds no bar, and confirms consent in writing within 28 days. She does not ask for pet insurance.
- Week 3, Possession risk. Her second tenant is two months behind on rent. She notes that Ground 8 needs at least three months’ (or 13 weeks’) arrears, so she does not rush a notice; she keeps a clear arrears record and prepares to use the current prescribed Section 8 form if the debt reaches the threshold.
By the end of three weeks Priya is not “compliant forever”, she has recurring duties, but she has closed the dangerous gaps.
A quick priority order
If you are starting from scratch today, tackle it in this order:
- New lets, only issue compliant periodic agreements.
- Possession, replace Section 21 habits with Section 8 knowledge.
- Rent reviews, switch to Section 13, once a year.
- Pets, set up a written 28-day response process.
- Compliance, verify deposits and certificates; plan for the database.
Self-audit summary table
| Area | Old position (pre-RRA) | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Tenancy type | Fixed-term AST | Periodic assured tenancy; remove fixed-term and rent-review clauses |
| Ending the tenancy | Section 21 no-fault notice | Section 8 only, current prescribed GOV.UK form, valid ground |
| Rent increases | Clause, agreement or Section 13 | Section 13 only, once per 12 months, tribunal can’t raise it |
| Pets | Blanket “no pets” allowed | Right to request; written decision in 28 days; no pet insurance |
| Deposits | Protect + prescribed info | Unchanged, but audit protection and information now |
| Holding deposit | One week’s rent cap | Unchanged, confirm cap and accounting |
For a tickable version covering every duty, see our Renters’ Rights Act compliance checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Has the deadline to prepare for the Renters’ Rights Act passed?
The core provisions commenced on 1 May 2026, so the “prepare before” window has technically closed. But there was no single switch-off requiring every landlord to act on day one, the law converts tenancies automatically. The realistic position now is catch-up: align your agreements, notices, rent process and pet policy with the rules that are already in force.
Are my existing fixed-term tenancy agreements now void?
The documents are not “void”, but any term creating a fixed period or a contractual rent review is unenforceable to the extent it conflicts with the Act. The tenancy itself continues as a periodic assured tenancy, and the tenant can end it on two months’ notice. You do not have to re-issue every agreement, but you should not rely on the old fixed-term or Section 21 mechanics.
Can I still use my old Section 21 notice templates?
No. Section 21 is abolished for assured tenancies, so a Section 21 notice has no legal effect. To regain possession you must use Section 8 on the current prescribed form on GOV.UK, citing a valid ground such as serious rent arrears (Ground 8) or intention to sell (Ground 1A). See Section 21 abolished: what landlords must do instead.
How often can I increase the rent now?
Once in any 12-month period, using a Section 13 notice on the current prescribed GOV.UK form, with the correct minimum notice before the new rent applies. If the tenant challenges it, the First-tier Tribunal can confirm or reduce the figure but cannot set it above what you proposed.
What happens if I ignore a tenant’s pet request?
You must respond in writing within 28 days (plus up to 7 more if you reasonably need information). While the Act does not create automatic “deemed consent”, failing to respond leaves you with no documented, reasoned refusal, which makes a later challenge far harder to defend. You also cannot require pet insurance as a condition.
Do I need to register on the PRS Database yet?
Not yet. The Private Rented Sector Database is expected to phase in from late 2026 into 2027, and the new PRS Landlord Ombudsman is anticipated around 2028. Neither is a live obligation on 18 June 2026, but both should sit on your forward-planning list.
Coming soon
Tenancy Pilot is launching soon with a compliance calendar and alerts engine designed to turn an action plan exactly like this into automated, dated reminders, so the next commencement milestone, certificate renewal, Section 13 anniversary or 28-day pet-request deadline never slips past you. Join the waitlist to be first in when we go live.
This article is general information, not legal advice. The law changes and your circumstances may differ. Always check the current position on GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk, and consult a qualified solicitor before acting.
Generate this document in minutes, soon
Tenancy Pilot turns these rules into ready-to-serve, Renters'-Rights-Act-compliant documents. Join the waitlist for early access.